"I’m coming out" part 3

Once again please read parts one and two if you have not done so already. Enjoy ; )

I hope death is not the end of me.
I would love for my consciousness to survive the "death" of my corporal form. Atheism contrary to popular belief is not synonymous with nihilism. People tend to stereotype atheists as these oblivion worshiping cynics with no “Moral compass.” I do not wish to drift in a void. I enjoy life more and more every day. As a matter of fact it would be AWESOME if after death, i was teleported to a magical land. A place where i spent my days frolicking on the beach with my 10 super-hot wives, And my nights fighting crime as a superhero. I could even see myself rocketing across the Universe and beyond. You can keep your boring scenario of sitting at the feet of the lord singing his praises with endless worship for millennia…Yawn. Sounds boring…No-thanks! Fact : When we die either something happens, or nothing happens. Simple i know, yet profound at the same time. Either way it goes, the outcome is truly amazing. If “Something happens” Then what is it ? Do we go to Heaven, Valhalla or Nirvana ? Will i meet Jesus, Buddha or some formless entity ? If it’s nothing, Is there just blackness ?, Will i know i’m dead ? Or will the light switch just go off for good ? I have no idea. Nor does your Pastor, or you.
I cannot in good faith ( pun intended ) totally dismiss people’s anecdotal accounts. “ My grandmother comes to me at night in my dreams” This is not something one can successfully debate. It is the equivalent of me stating that when i’m alone in my shower i sing just like Prince. This is called a negative argument. A fantastical claim that cannot be either proven nor disproven. I will grant you this. I believe you believe it. However, just because i believe you believe, does not make it true. Your beliefs can only be measured within your own head. “Well it’s personal” Of course it is. I believe it to be a personal delusion. “DELUSION, HOW DARE YOU CALL MY BELIEFS DELUSIONAL?” I can state this with some degree of confidence because you cannot prove said beliefs outside of your own head. This is why we call it “Belief.” The words very nature implies subjectivity. The thought that Jesus is magically protecting you ( to me ) is your way of coping with the reality of your impending death and the inevitability of that fact.
Science is not a belief, science seeks to test the validity of beliefs and claims. “Can you PROVE you love your mother Mr atheist?” NO! No i cannot prove an abstract feeling like love. Love is the emotional byproduct of a biochemical process, a feeling. Christian Apologists might argue that point as proof of their beliefs. I have heard them say things like “You love your mom, and you’re sure of it, yet you can’t prove it.” This inability to prove love is compared to knowing the lord, but not being able to prove he exists…”Nice try McFly ?” I do not go around telling people that my “Beliefs” and feelings about love are absolute and true unlike religion, AKA, your “beliefs.” God is societies security blanket, night-light, and Google, all rolled up into one. God simply put is humanities explanation for everything it doesn't understand.
Why does any of this matter ?
On a personal level, it doesn’t. I don’t care what people believe in. I don’t care if it's God or a robot unicorn. You can go to your specific place of worship 24 hrs a day 7 days a week and pray all night. …I could -care -less. My problem with the trinity ( Faith, Religion and or God ) is when these beliefs start to manifest themselves into the “Common areas of society.”
PRAYER IN SCHOOL…HELL NO!
I don’t care that the majority of the people in this country believe in god, That’s not my problem. The majority of people once thought the world was flat. ( Sherri Shepherd still might ) The majority of the people in the United states at one time had no problem with slavery either. It becomes MY problem when religious “Special interests” try to force it on my children in public institutions.“ The first amendment to the constitution is supposed to protect my child from religion in school. You know, the whole separation of church and state thingy. Yet somehow every year some political panderer or group tries to usurp said amendment which expressly forbids this.

Current republican presidential candidate and Texas Governor Rick Perry is one such politician. On Fox news Sunday Mr Perry was quoted as saying, "I would support a constitutional amendment that allows our children to pray in school any time they would like.” Governor Perry is not making some rogue statement out of the blue, This “Thinking” is “Par for the course” in the Republican/Tea-bagger crowd. My child should not have to be intimidated, ostracized or distracted at school with bronze age myths and silliness. If you would like for your child to receive this type of “Education” then you should send them to a specialized school, Like a Catholic one or a Madrassa for instance. My tax dollars should be utilized to further my child's education, Not retard it.
THERE SHOULD BE ABSOLUTELY NO MENTION OF THE BIBLE IN ANY SCIENCE TEXT BOOK…EVER!!!
Yet in the very state that Rick Perry is the Governor of…Hmmm, This is exactly what could happen. It is widely acknowledged that the state of Texas sets the standards for the rest of the nation, in respect to what text-books will be used in the public school system nation wide. In short, Texas buys the most books. When this happens it causes a chain reaction. The price of the books goes down, The discounts for the rest of the nation go up and the standard is set. The problem lies in outside groups trying to influence what can be added or omitted from said books. This happens through the lobbying and legislation efforts of religious individuals or groups.

How can we say for sure how old the earth is? The truth is we can’t. What we can do however is use the knowledge we have acquired thus far through various sciences and make an educated guess based on the data. According to respected scientific thinking the universe is about 14 billion years old, while the earth itself is approximately 4 and 1/2 billion years old. If that information changes it will be because an individual or group of respected scientists and researchers in the field come to that conclusion based on new evidence…Not Junk science.
WHAT MAKES YOUR SCIENCE BETTER THAN OURS?
Have you ever heard of the “New earth creationist movement” ? Maybe you would better recognize them under the Nom-De-Guerre Intelligent design. For the sake of argument let’s refer to them as simply Creationists. Creationists in short believe the earth to be less than 10,000 years old. Creationists contend that man in fact DID walk among the dinosaurs. The reason these things must be true in their paradigm is so their history of man parallels the biblical account of history. The only way to get people to believe this would be to get scientists of their own to support these ridiculous claims. As told in the P.B.S documentary “Intelligent design on trial” This is just what happened. In Oct of 04 in Dover Pennsylvania people became upset with Darwinism being taught in school. They pointed out what they found to be an excessive amount of references to Charles Darwin and his “Theory of evolution.” Equal time was asked to be given to the “Theory of Intelligent Design” This sparked a nation wide debate and a new trial on Creationism -Vs- Evolution.
This happened in spite of the fact that the matter had already been adjudicated in a 1987 Supreme Court case which held that Creationism in the classroom was a violation of “The Establishment Clause” of the constitution.The clause states. "The United States Government cannot promote nor prohibit any form of religion". Yet here it was again. Same guys, different hats. Allas…Reason won the day. The judge ruled that “Intelligent design” was just another form of “Creationism” and that creationism was NOT SCIENCE!
Rick perry could win. He could become the nominee. Stranger things have happened. Although with the religious right bend of the G.O.P it doesn’t matter which candidate wins. Either way it’s a victory for Conservatives. Mitt ( “Who let the dogs out” -look it up, giggle ) Romney could very well become the president of the united states. If you don’t think it’s possible then you’re just not paying attention. And if it’s not Mitt, you can fill in the blank with the G.O.P candidate of your choice. Rick ( No more Black-Welfare ) Santorum, Michelle ( “God told me to run” ) Bachmann, or Newt ( Prayer in school ) Gingrich. Any one of these Messiah Heralds could become either the President or Vice president of the United States…Scary! And speaking of Mitt Romney and religion…WOW!
See you in about a week for the conclusion ( Que. dramatic music ). Please check out the video when you get the chance. Trust me it’s time well spent.
So what do you think? So far i have gotten over 40 written responses to my blogs…Unfortunately none of those comments wound up in the comments section. I wonder why ? Oh well. “At least we learned how to make french fries” Until we meet again…
Go Lakers!!!
C -